The HTC One M8 is one of the most well-received Android phones of the year, so when Microsoft approached the company about making a new Windows Phone, it requested the M8 specifically.

"The M8, as our flagship, has been doing fantastic," says Jeff Gordon, HTC's online communications manager. "Microsoft came to us a while back and, loving what we did with the HTC One M8 for Android so much, they wanted to do something similar, but running Windows Phone software."

The HTC One M8 for Windows has the exact same hardware as the Android M8 — with the familiar 5-inch full HD screen, Snapdragon 801 chip and robust "BoomSound" speakers — with just the Windows Phone logo beneath the "HTC" on the back betraying the operating system onboard. The phone is exclusive to Verizon for the launch, and it's available today for $99.99 (with a two-year contract) or $29.99 a month under Verizon Edge.

Image: Mashable, Niki Walker

The phone runs the latest Windows Phone software (version 8.1.1), which includes Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana. HTC also worked closely with Microsoft to ensure the One's signature features, such as the built-in TV remote control, carry over to the Windows Phone version with few changes:

BlinkFeed — the Android home screen that's loaded with "snackable" information from social feeds and news sites — is accessed via an app on the Windows version, rather than by swiping to the left. The color-coding that HTC introduce with the M8 (green for articles, orange for media, etc.) also gives way to the color theme the Windows Phone user has selected.

The Duo camera is one of the best features of the HTC One M8, and many of its tricks are preserved in the M8 for Windows. You can refocus photos after the fact, add stylized textures to the background and even create the same crude 3D effect you can on the Android version. One thing missing from the camera experience, though, is the Zoe camera that helps in the automatic creation of highlight videos (also absent).

And, yes, the phone's infrared port (which is built into the power button) also doubles as a remote control, something Windows Phone doesn't inherently support. Microsoft had to give HTC some special sauce so it could get the IR port working on the Windows model. In both cases, the port works with an HTC-made remote app that presents content visually, with graphical title cards.

I had a little hands-on time with the HTC One M8 for Windows, and it succeeds, for the most part, in replicating the great experience of the Android version. The camera experience — probably the feature that matters most — is just as good, although I the lack of Zoe and the automatic highlight videos is a strike against it. However, it makes up for the absence with the ability to integrate other camera apps through Windows Phone's "lenses."

"We're really kind of following Microsoft's lead on Windows Phone as opposed to HTC Sense, where we control the entire experience," says Gordon.

HTC One M8 for Windows

HTC One, Times Two

The HTC One M8 (left) gets a near-identical twin in the HTC One M8 for Windows (right). Here, the Windows Phone version shows the re-imagined TV app, which works with the phone's infrared port on the top of the device.

Camera comparison

The Windows Phone camera (left) has many of the same options as the Android One, with the notable absence of the Zoe camera that helps create automatic highlight videos (also not on the Windows version).

Camera UI

The camera interface on the M8 for Windows (left) is almost exactly the same, only with Windows iconography.

Depth camera tricks

The camera software tricks like the ability to refocus a photo or add a surreal tone to the background carry over, although some effects (like an artificial snowfall) aren't there.

Windows Phone logo

The Windows Phone logo is the only physical sign that this is a different phone from the Android version

Windows Phone Start screen

The Start screen on the HTC One M8 discards the HTC Sense color coding in favor of the user-selected Windows Phone theme.

The phone marks the first Windows Phone that HTC has created in two years. Back in 2012, HTC debuted the HTC Windows Phone 8X and 8S — phones the company designed from the ground up to work with Windows Phone 8 (a variant of the 8X, the 8XT, appeared about a year ago).

Will the success of the HTC One M8 rub off on Windows Phone, a platform in desperate need of a boost? Microsoft certainly hopes so, since its own Nokia brand can only do so much on heavy lifting its own. But for the strategy to really work, the Samsungs and Huaweis of the world will have to get on board, too. At next month's IFA trade show in Berlin, we should get a clue about whether or not that's happening.

HTC One M8 Event

The new HTC One M8 for Windows is unveiled on August 19, 2014 in New York.

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

Jason Mackenzie, the president of HTC America announces the new HTC One M8 for Windows on August 19, 2014 in New York.

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

The new HTC One M8 for Windows phone.

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

The HTC One M8 for Windows has the exact same hardware as the Android M8 — with the familiar 5-inch full HD screen, Snapdragon 801 chip and "BoomSound" speakers.

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

The new HTC One M8 has the Windows Phone logo beneath the "HTC" on the back betraying the operating system onboard.

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